Supermax

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Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in prison systems.

Contents

[edit] History

An early form of supermax-style prison unit appeared in Australia in 1975, when "Katingal" was built inside the Long Bay Correctional Centre in Sydney. Dubbed the "electronic zoo" by inmates, "Katingal" was a super-maximum prison block designed for sensory deprivation, with its 40 prison cells having electronically-operated doors, surveillance cameras, and no windows. It was closed down two years later over human rights concerns, and was finally demolished in early 2006.

The term "supermax", however, originated in the United States as a contraction of "super-maximum," and the concept developed from the permanent lockdown of the Federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois dating from 1983 when two corrections officers at that prison were murdered by inmates in two separate incidents on the same day. Since then, some maximum security prisons have gone to full lockdown as well, while others have been built and dedicated to the Supermax standard. Supermax prisons are also known as SHU prisons (Security Housing Unit).

There is a nationwide trend to downgrade Supermax prisons, as has been done with the infamous Wallens Ridge State Prison, a former-supermax prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Other Supermax prisons that have gained notoriety for their harsh conditions and attendant litigation by inmates and advocates are the former Boscobel (in Wisconsin), now named the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility, Red Onion (in Western Virginia, the twin to Wallens Ridge), Tamms (in Illinois), and the Ohio State Penitentiary. Placement policies at the Ohio facility were recently the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case (Wilkinson v. Austin) [1] where the Court decided that there had to be some, but only very limited, due process involved in Supermax placement.

There are only two "purely" Supermax prisons in the United States federal system. However, many states now have created supermax prisons; either as stand alone facilities, or as secure units within lower security prisons. The federal supermax prisons are currently USP in Marion, Illinois, and ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado. State supermax prisons include Pelican Bay in California and Tamms in Illinois.

In September 2001, Australia opened a facility in the Goulburn Correctional Centre to the supermax standard. While its condition is an improvement over that of "Katingal" of the 1970s, this new facility is nonetheless designed on the same principle of sensory deprivation. It has been set up for 'AA' prisoners who are deemed a risk to national security, who, if allowed to mix with the general population would be at risk of inciting terrorism.[citation needed]

[edit] Prisoner life

In Supermax prisons, prisoners are generally allowed out of their cells for only an hour a day; often they are kept in solitary confinement. They receive their meals through "food ports" ("bean holes") in the doors of their cells. Prisoners are given no work and very little access to leisure activities, though some categories of prisoners are allowed to have a television. When Supermax inmates are allowed to exercise, this may take place in a small, enclosed area where the prisoner will exercise alone.

Prisoners are under constant surveillance, usually with closed-circuit television cameras. Cell doors are usually opaque, while the cells may be windowless. Conditions are spartan, with poured concrete or metal furniture common. Often cell walls, and sometimes plumbing, are soundproofed to prevent communication between the inmates.

[edit] Controversy

Supermax and Special Housing United (SHU) prisons are controversial, as some claim[2] that they violate the United States Constitution. In 1996, a United Nations team assigned to investigate torture described SHU conditions as "inhuman and degrading".[3]

Proponents say that Supermax prisons offer a way to contain prisoners that could otherwise harm or be harmed by the general prison population, especially more infamous individuals who wouldn't function well in a general prison population.[citation needed] A Supermax prison intended to fulfill such a role is the Federal ADMAX, or administrative maximum security, prison in Florence, Colorado, west of Pueblo. There, the U.S. government houses a number of convicted terrorists, gang leaders and similar prisoners; September 11th terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life without parole at Florence upon his conviction on May 4, 2006. Also resident are Ted Kaczynski, a terrorist otherwise known as the Unabomber who once attacked via mail bombs, and Richard Reid, an Islamic fundamentalist jailed for life for attempting to detonate explosive materials in his shoes whilst on board an aircraft. However, such non-violent offenders as Susan McDougal have also been held in Supermax facilities.

[edit] Prisons with supermax facilities

[edit] United States

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Most of these facilities only contain supermax wings or sections, with other parts of the facility under lesser security measures.

[edit] Maximum security prisons in other countries

[edit] Well-known supermax inmates

[edit] Books and media portraying maximum security units

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wilkinson v. Austin 04-495 (2005), Link to case text
  2. ^ PrisonActivist.org – California's Security Housing Units
  3. ^ Paglen.com – Security Housing Unit

[edit] External links

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